Claremont McKenna Collegehttp://www.claremontmckenna.edu/news
NewsroomTue, 31 Mar 2015 13:25:56 +0000en-UShourly1Endeavor to be awarded the 2015 Henry R. Kravis Prize in Nonprofit Leadershiphttp://www.claremontmckenna.edu/news/endeavor-to-be-awarded-the-2015-henry-r-kravis-prize-in-nonprofit-leadership/
http://www.claremontmckenna.edu/news/endeavor-to-be-awarded-the-2015-henry-r-kravis-prize-in-nonprofit-leadership/#commentsTue, 31 Mar 2015 13:25:56 +0000http://www.claremontmckenna.edu/news/?p=20598 Continue Reading]]>When Javier Okhuysen and Carlos Orellana wanted to help prevent avoidable blindness in Mexico through state-of-the art, low-cost cataract surgery and eye care, they turned to Endeavor to help develop their business, salaUno. When Leila Velez sought help to grow her afro-Brazilian hair care business, Endeavor provided her with the necessary business tools and mentoring to realize her dream. Today Beleza Natural operates a chain of 24 salons and employs over 1,000 women. And when Sugianto Tandio determined his mission was to solve the waste and pollution problems that Indonesia faces, Endeavor afforded him access to a network of experts, helping to turn his company, Tirta Marta, into a leader in next generation eco-friendly plastics using Indonesia’s natural resources.

In recognition for its revolutionary work to provide support and mentorship to high-impact entrepreneurs such as Javier, Leila, and Sugianto, as well as some 1,000 others from 22 countries on five continents (including, most recently, two US cities), who in turn have stimulated local economies through the creation of hundreds of thousands of jobs, Endeavor has been named the recipient of the 10th Annual Henry R. Kravis Prize in Nonprofit Leadership. The Kravis Prize is among the world’s most prestigious awards for nonprofit leadership, akin to a Nobel geared specifically to this sector.

Endeavor will receive the Kravis Prize and $250,000 award on April 23, 2015 at Claremont McKenna College as part of a special celebration of the Prize’s 10th Anniversary and of the 20th Anniversary of the College’s Kravis Leadership Institute. The ceremony celebrates the accomplishments of best-in-class nonprofits and enables winners to share their best practices with others.

“Endeavor exemplifies the Prize’s philosophy about entrepreneurship, social good, and venture philanthropy. Endeavor’s leadership has had a profound impact on everyday people,” said Marie-Josée Kravis, an economist who is chair of the Kravis Prize Selection Committee. “We are grateful for its remarkable work to change lives all over the world, creating invaluable jobs and resources.”

“Endeavor is a perfect example of a nonprofit that has significant influence on the ground and great success creating a sustainable ecosystem for future impact,” said Henry R. Kravis, an alumnus and trustee of the College who is co-founder of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P., and founder of the Kravis Prize. “We applaud Endeavor’s impressive accomplishments developing high-impact companies and entrepreneurs, and work to transform the economic landscapes of underdeveloped countries.”

Established in 2006, The Henry R. Kravis Prize in Nonprofit Leadership conducts a rigorous due diligence and selection process to choose an annual recipient. The Prize impacts the nonprofit sector overall by lauding strong performances and sharing recipients’ best practices with others. The Prize is administered by Claremont McKenna College.

2015 Kravis Prize Recipient: Endeavor

Founded in 1997 by Linda Rottenberg and Peter Kellner, Endeavor has helped over 1,000 entrepreneurs build more than 600 companies in 22 countries. Endeavor Entrepreneurs have collectively created more than 400,000 jobs, generating close to $7 billion in revenue.

The organization’s mission is to lead the global movement to catalyze long-term economic growth by selecting, mentoring, and accelerating the best high-impact entrepreneurs around the world. Endeavor helps them overcome barriers to growth by providing the key ingredients to success: mentorship; networks; strategic advice; talent; skills; access to smart capital; and inspiration from the world’s top financial institutions and consulting firms. Guided by Endeavor, these entrepreneurs generate sustainable economic growth and jobs, become self-made role models, and help nurture a culture of entrepreneurship which spurs investment and encourages people to think big. The entrepreneurs in return are required to help other local companies grow by reinvesting in their community, becoming mentors and donating their time and resources.

“We’re honored and grateful to receive the Kravis Prize,” said Endeavor co-founder and CEO Linda Rottenberg. “This is a testament to the amazing work of our board members, staff and mentors in 22 countries who have helped thousands of entrepreneurs to think big, achieve their dreams, and pay it forward in their communities.”

The Endeavor model of creating an entrepreneurial ecosystem that generates jobs and encourages social change is embedded in Claremont McKenna College’s DNA, and embodied by the Kravis Leadership Institute (KLI). Students in the academic center learn about leadership development through the lens of social entrepreneurship and are provided with unique opportunities to develop as outstanding real world leaders in the public, private and social sectors.

“Claremont McKenna College is very pleased to administer the Kravis Prize. This has been a feather in our cap,” said CMC President Hiram Chodosh. “When you factor in the work of the Kravis Leadership Institute and the tremendous impact that Kravis Prize recipients have on the world and the College’s recent designation as a Changemaker campus, you have a remarkable synergy that creates a place in the world unlike any other where social enterprise and leadership meet in new and transformative ways to bring positive change to the world. This year’s recipient, Endeavor, fits perfectly with the mission of the Prize, the Institute and the College.”

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]]>http://www.claremontmckenna.edu/news/endeavor-to-be-awarded-the-2015-henry-r-kravis-prize-in-nonprofit-leadership/feed/0Teaching a nation to understand itselfhttp://www.claremontmckenna.edu/news/teaching-a-nation-to-understand-itself/
http://www.claremontmckenna.edu/news/teaching-a-nation-to-understand-itself/#commentsWed, 25 Mar 2015 21:18:59 +0000http://www.claremontmckenna.edu/news/?p=20518 Continue Reading]]>When critics complain, especially now that the 2016 presidential campaign is starting to take shape, that the federal government should stay out of public education, or that it has no business there, it would make sense for them to turn to George Thomas(pictured, left) for some helpful historical perspective.

Why? Because Thomas, a professor of government who specializes in American constitutional development, might surprise them with the following information about the relationship of the federal government to public education: The Founders very much believed that the federal government should play a part in educating the American public. In fact, they considered it vital to this country’s survival.

Education is “not formally mentioned or even acknowledged in the Constitution,” writes Thomas in The Founders and the Idea of a National University: Constituting the American Mind (Cambridge University Press), and this omission may suggest to some, especially opponents of federal influence, that “it was left to families, local communities and the states.”

But, Thomas adds, “national education was not only contemplated by the founding generation, it was understood as part of creating and maintaining the American constitutional order.”

A “crucial link”

Thomas’ new book explores this preoccupation with establishing a national university — he calls it an “unrealized dream” — in the writings and thought of Washington, Franklin, Jefferson, Madison, Webster and many other members of the generations that envisioned and cultivated the American experiment in democracy. Such a university, he explains in his book, goes hand in hand with the machinery of a democratic government.

To extend that metaphor further, such an educational institution also provides the necessary oil to keep that machinery running smoothly.

In 1796, George Washington emphasized the importance of establishing a national university during one of his last public appearances as president. Washington, Thomas tells us, noted the “delicate and crucial link between education and republican government.”

But Washington wasn’t thinking of just any kind of educational system — he had in mind a very specific one with a very specific responsibility and mission:

“…a primary object of such a National Institution should be, the education of our Youth in the science of Government. In a Republic, what species of knowledge can be equally important? And what duty, more pressing on its Legislature, than to patronize a plan for communicating it to those, who are to be the future guardians of the liberties of the Country?”

Washington’s point underscores the subtitle of Thomas’ book as well as the reason why such an institution was envisioned. The American public needed (and still needs) help in understanding and appreciating why this country remains, nearly 240 years after its founding, unique in its constitutional identity.

Washington’s words were an extraordinary call to action–and Thomas explores why that call hasn’t been answered, and how the conflict over federal versus state authority has influenced and complicated the matter. (This aspect of his book sheds light and perspective on the current arguments for and against such elements as the Common Core in public school classrooms.)

In an advance book review, constitutional scholar Gary Jacobsohn salutes Thomas’ scholarship for illuminating an overlooked aspect of the relationship between the Constitution and the American people.

“The Founders and the Idea of a National University is a superbly illuminating study of an unrealized component of constitutional design that through [Thomas’] efforts may yet contribute to the sustaining of the American political order,” says Jacobsohn, who is Malcolm MacDonald Professor of Constitutional and Comparative Law at the University of Texas at Austin.

A story of “the American present”

Although The Founders and the Idea of a National University looks back at the American republic’s early formation and then traces its evolution regarding this idea, Thomas’ book pivots to help us understand current climates of debate over government and education issues — whether they’re taking place in presidential campaign circles or in higher education.

“[T]his is really a story about the American present,” Thomas says about his new book in a blog post for the Jack Miller Center. “What role do America’s colleges and universities play in cultivating a civic mindset? For all the talk of leadership at elite colleges and universities these days, do they promote the sort of publicly spirited leadership beneficial to maintaining America’s political order?”

A first place to look for answers and clarification is Thomas’ book, which serves as both an important act of historical preservation and as a reminder of an idea that has proven itself to be timely as well as timeless.

For the third-straight season, the CMS men’s swimming & diving team secured a top-10 finish at the NCAAs. This season, the Stags wrapped up the four-day NCAA Championships which ended on March 21, with a fifth place finish, which continues the program’s upward trend at nationals in recent years. Over the last four seasons, the Stags have finished in 27th (2012), 10th (2013), 7th (2014) and now 5th.

The CMS women’s swimming & diving team closed out their week at nationals with a 16th place finish, the women’s second top-20 finish at nationals in a row. Last year the Athenas finished in 13th.

For complete results and individual records and times, please read each day’s recap from the NCAA Championships below.

The Dreier Roundtable (DRt) at Claremont McKenna College and the Brookings Institution will host DRt’s inaugural Washington, D.C. conference on immigration reform, “BRIDGING THE IMMIGRATION DIVIDE: Forging a Bi-Partisan Policy on Visas for STEM Graduates,” which will focus on how to retain foreign graduates of U.S. universities in the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), on Thursday, March 26, at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C.

The “brain drain” caused by current immigration laws discourages foreign students who have obtained a degree in the United States from remaining here to pursue employment or start companies. DRt and Brookings are convening leaders in higher education, policy experts, and policymakers to find common ground on updating our visa laws to prevent losing talented graduates in areas vital to the American economy.

Finding common ground on immigration reform is a challenge in today’s polarized political atmosphere, and the need for deliberate, collegial debate and discussion is acute. This conference will reflect DRt’s core values of bipartisan engagement on vital public policy issues in an atmosphere of mutual interest and respect. To achieve this, the conference will consist of an expert panel, examining ideas for reform presented by Brookings & DRt scholars, and closing remarks from current and former White House advisors from both sides of the debate.

Speakers for the expert panel discussion on visas for STEM graduates will be:

William Antholis, Director and CEO, Miller Center, University of Virginia will moderate the expert panel discussion.

Closing remarks from current and former White House advisors include:

Felicia Escobar, Special Assistant to the President for Immigration Policy

Barry Jackson, former political advisor to President George W. Bush and former chief of staff to Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives John Boehner

Hon. David Dreier ’75 is also scheduled to speak during the opening and closing remarks.

The Dreier Roundtable is inspired by the career of David Dreier, longtime chairman of the House Rules Committee, 32-year veteran of Congress and recent appointee to Secretary of State John Kerry’s Foreign Affairs Policy Board. He is a trustee and alumnus of Claremont McKenna College and distinguished fellow at the Brookings Institution. The Dreier Roundtable is also home of the Annenberg-Dreier Commission at Sunnylands, which works to strengthen the free flow of goods, services, capital, information, ideas and people throughout the greater Pacific.

EVENT INFORMATION:

Thursday, March 26, 2015

Brookings Institution

Falk Auditorium

1775 Massachusetts Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20036

8:45 – 9:30 a.m.: Welcome Breakfast

9:30 – 10:50 a.m.: STEM Visa Report Panel Discussion

11:00 – 11:45 a.m.: Closing Remarks

A live webcast and video of the event will be available at www.cmc.edu. Join the conversation on Twitter at #DreierRoundtable.

]]>http://www.claremontmckenna.edu/news/dreier-roundtable-to-host-conference-on-bridging-the-immigration-divide-forging-a-bi-partisan-policy-on-visas-for-stem-graduates/feed/0For a group of CMCers, running the LA Marathon was imperativehttp://www.claremontmckenna.edu/news/for-a-group-of-cmcers-running-the-la-marathon-was-imperative/
http://www.claremontmckenna.edu/news/for-a-group-of-cmcers-running-the-la-marathon-was-imperative/#commentsThu, 19 Mar 2015 22:57:23 +0000http://www.claremontmckenna.edu/news/?p=20479 Continue Reading]]>There’s an old motivational saying that goes: It’s not where you start, it’s where you finish. When you run the LA Marathon in record heat, the question quickly becomes – if you finish.

According to the Los Angeles Times, more than 22,000 people raced the 26.2 mile course from Dodger Stadium to Santa Monica last Sunday – the third day of a record-breaking heat wave with temperatures 20 degrees higher than average across the region.

And among that massive throng of joggers were several CMC students and alumni, parents and President Hiram E. Chodosh.

In addition to personal goals – for some, running under four hours; for others just finishing the course – the race entrants from CMC led by seniors Ben Tillotson ‘15 and Rita Gilles ‘15, ran to benefit a bigger cause. They ran to raise money for financial aid and scholarships as a part of The Student Imperative, an initiative that aims to add $100 million to the college’s endowment so it can meet 100 percent of each student’s needs once admitted.

Currently, more than $75,000 has been pledged to the Initiative with additional monies expected to enlarge the total to $100,000 in a few weeks.

“Running to raise money for The Student Imperative will help make sure that anyone who is qualified to attend CMC can do so regardless of socio-economic background,” Tillotson said.

“I’m running because I care so much about financial aid and scholarships at CMC,” Gilles added. “I think most students do and we saw this as a way to fight for what we believe in and try and make CMC more accessible to other students.”

In addition to runners from the college, CMC was out in force with tents and a cheering section strategically placed around mile 22.

“That was my most favorite part of the marathon,” Gilles said, “running past the CMC tents and seeing all of my friends there cheering and high-fiving and dumping water on me. It was just amazing. My least favorite part was the beginning of the race being stuck in a huge crowd.”

President Chodosh, a 1991 veteran of the New York City Marathon, also appreciated that late-race boost from CMCers. “The CMCer’s looked fantastic,” he said. “I saw them out there. We ran into each other quite frequently and there was a big group assembled just after mile 22 which was exciting. And my family was just about a half-mile before the finish line.”

The highpoint for President Chodosh was coming up on Santa Monica near the end of the race and seeing the gleaming Pacific.

“I was thinking about focusing on the race one step at a time, saving energy to finish the race and to just enjoy the day,” he said. President Chodosh finished the marathon in less than five hours which was his goal.

“It was an accomplishment for me, especially given the little amount of time I had to train,” he said.

Another personal goal was reached by first-time marathoner Tillotson who, with a time of 3:1:16, qualified to run in the Boston Marathon. “I’m from Boston and to be eligible to run in my age group, I had to run under 3:3:30.”

Other runners included Mark Segal ’86 who ran with his daughter Talia ’15 who, in turn, ran because “my experience at CMC is one of the best things I could ever have asked for,” she said. “I feel every student deserves a chance to go here.”

For Jessie Capper ’17, the most challenging aspect of the race was keeping a consistent pace throughout and staying motivated.

“I’ve done half-marathons in the past and doing a full marathon was something I wanted to cross off the bucket list,” Capper said. “And this seemed like the perfect opportunity, especially after what CMC has given me. My goal was to finish and I did in a lot better time than I was expecting to.”

Just before the race began in the pre-dawn half-light, Josh Walter ’01, Director of Leadership Giving at Claremont McKenna, admitted to some jitters. “What’s going on in my mind is massive confusion and wondering exactly how I got myself here right now!”

Walter predicted that his biggest problem would occur around mile 17, “where you’re far into it but you still have 10-ish to go! But we’ll make it, we’ll push through.”

And being CMCer’s, they all did!

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]]>http://www.claremontmckenna.edu/news/for-a-group-of-cmcers-running-the-la-marathon-was-imperative/feed/0Students Learn the Art of Persuasion at 7th Annual Robert Day School Case Competitionhttp://www.claremontmckenna.edu/news/students-learn-the-art-of-persuasion-at-7th-annual-robert-day-school-case-competition/
http://www.claremontmckenna.edu/news/students-learn-the-art-of-persuasion-at-7th-annual-robert-day-school-case-competition/#commentsThu, 19 Mar 2015 22:46:45 +0000http://www.claremontmckenna.edu/news/?p=20482 Continue Reading]]>A rewarding and for some, nerve-racking day of presentations and persuasion, marked the 7th Annual Robert Day School Case Competition held March 6th in the Bauer Center.

The takeaway for the winning team was a $5,000 prize but everyone who competed was able to hone a vital skill set that could be crucial in the years ahead in both career and life situations.

According to Brian Dennis, director of administration and programs at the Robert Day School (RDS), the competition, sponsored by The Robert Day School of Economics and Finance at CMC, provides students with an opportunity to work together in a team while evaluating a real-world issue.

“While all of the students had a chance to participate in the first round, I think it was a really positive experience for them to receive feedback from the judges,” Dennis said. “Whether they present or consult in any situation in the future, they no doubt will be asked to make a compelling argument, and the students who participated today will be able to draw on this experience.”

The competition, open to Robert Day Scholars and any student from CMC, gives participants the opportunity to work as a member of a four-person team while thinking critically about business ethics and leadership. Competitors presented their case analysis (entitled: “Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.: End of Incentives”) to a panel of judges consisting of faculty members and business practitioners.

“I am constantly impressed by the presentation skills of the CMC students and Robert Day Scholars, ” Dennis said. “To see them stand up there and confidently address an issue without having to rely on notes or read off of a screen is impressive. They do a wonderful job of overcoming the butterflies that I’m sure are there and excelling.”

For Koh, a Physics and Economics major who competed last year but didn’t make the finals, the win was a bit of a shock. “We really just wanted to do our best and weren’t expecting to make it to the final round by any means,” he said. “We were somewhat surprised that we made it through because the competition was very tough.”

According to Kanade, a History major and the self-described only “non-Econ-oriented” person in his group, taking part in the competition was a way he could acclimate himself to that discipline and learn more about it. “Coming from a history major standpoint,” he said, “I feel I can always contribute something a little bit different in perspective.”

Smith, an Organizational Studies major, agreed and said that analyzing a situation in a different way broadens perspective. “And that comes from the group members you choose to compete with,” she said. “Each of the group members I was with brought a very different view on the case, which really helped.”

All of the competitors benefitted from the sage advice of the judges.

“Their presentation tips were great,” said Kamath, a Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) and Accounting dual major. “They stressed making good eye contact, not using the PowerPoint presentation as a crutch. It’s not just a one-siloed approach but thinking about problems from different angles in an interdisciplinary way. It really integrates well with a liberal arts education.”

According to Martindale, although the presentations were uniformly excellent, some competing teams exhibited a bit more polish than others. “When you’re looking at four or five groups back to back like we did, it’s really easy to see who prepared a lot and who prepared just a little bit,” he said.

“And confidence,” he added. “Some exuded it, some didn’t. You might not even know what you’re talking about but if you say it confidently, people will tend to believe you. I know that sounds crazy, but there’s a lot of gray area out there. Make sure you are ready to answer any and every possible question or you will lose credibility immediately.”

In a feedback session, Rajczi gave competitors a formula, going forward, about how to think about their future presentations.

“Often, during a presentation, we don’t stop to think from the other person’s point of view,” he said. “One very good technique is to think of a time when someone persuaded you of something (which, after all, is what you are trying to do in these competitions) and how did they do it? They did it by looking you in the eyes, not by staring at their shoes. I bet no one has convinced you of anything by going through a list. Persuasion is interpersonal.”

Even for competitors outside the winners circle, the case study competition had no downside.

“I would recommend this competition to other CMCers,” said PPE major Ben Fusek ’17. “It’s definitely a bit of a grind, but I think it’s a really valuable opportunity.”

For Anna Zimmerman ’17, a Chemistry-Economics dual major, the competition was a way to face down a fear. “I always wanted to participate but was never able to muster up the courage to do it,” she said. “This year I just decided to take the plunge and I’m really happy that I did. I wanted to enhance my public speaking abilities and to do some analysis as well as learn from the incredible upperclassmen that have been doing this for a few years.

“Being proud and taking ownership of the work that I do will pay dividends for me in the future,” she added. “That is an education in itself. I recommend this experience to other students, even nervous freshman. Go for it!”

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]]>http://www.claremontmckenna.edu/news/students-learn-the-art-of-persuasion-at-7th-annual-robert-day-school-case-competition/feed/0Ryan McMahon ’08 Writes A Hit Song http://www.claremontmckenna.edu/news/ryan-mcmahon-08-writes-a-hit-song/
http://www.claremontmckenna.edu/news/ryan-mcmahon-08-writes-a-hit-song/#commentsWed, 18 Mar 2015 23:58:29 +0000http://www.claremontmckenna.edu/news/?p=20474 Continue Reading]]>Songwriter Ryan McMahon ’08, who majored in economics and accounting at CMC, recently co-wrote a hit song with the band Walk The Moon. The song “Shut Up and Dance” just hit #10 on the all iTunes chart and is currently climbing Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. See the video for the song featuring a sampling of dance scenes from popular movies that itself has gone viral.

]]>http://www.claremontmckenna.edu/news/ryan-mcmahon-08-writes-a-hit-song/feed/0Book edited by Prof. Rosenbaum documents Chinese University in era of upheavalhttp://www.claremontmckenna.edu/news/book-documents-chinese-university-in-era-of-upheaval/
http://www.claremontmckenna.edu/news/book-documents-chinese-university-in-era-of-upheaval/#commentsWed, 18 Mar 2015 18:14:49 +0000http://www.claremontmckenna.edu/news/?p=20469 Continue Reading]]>A new book of essays (New Perspectives on Yenching University, 1916-1952: A Liberal Education for a New China) edited by Arthur Lewis Rosenbaum, associate professor of East Asian History at CMC, has just been published by Brill Academic Publishing. The book reevaluates and places into a larger context, in an era marked by war and revolution, the experience of China’s preeminent Christian university (1916-1952).

“The questions raised by Yenching’s history have contemporary relevance,” says Rosenbaum. “What are the limits of American influence and are American ideals universal? Is there a place in China for the ideals expressed by the school motto ‘Freedom Through Truth for Service” and a liberal arts education emphasizing developing the total individual?’

Prior to its demise in 1952 during the height of the Korean War, Yenching University’s efforts to adapt to its Chinese environment were heralded as the quintessential success story of American internationalism and progressive Christian enterprise. On the other hand, Chinese Communist historians through the Maoist era denounced Yenching as an elitist and imperialist enterprise closely associated with the United States. It cosmopolitan approach alienated Chinese from their own people. American scholarship during those same years saw Yenching as an example of why American inspired models, both secular and religious, failed to offer a viable approach to solving China’s real needs.“

The essays show that the university fostered transnational exchanges of knowledge, changed the lives of students and faculty and responded to the pressures of nationalism, war and revolution. Topics covered in the book include efforts to make Christianity relevant to China’s needs; promotion of professional expertise and new disciplines, gender relationships and coeducation; the liberal arts; Sino-American cultural interactions; and Yenching’s ambiguous response to Chinese nationalism, Japanese invasion, and revolution.

Rosenbaum’s other publications include edited volumes and articles on modern China, including State and Society in China: the Consequences of Reform (1992).

Two CMC alumni – Laura Shunk ’07 and Lanier Zimmer ’09 – have been named to the prestigious roles of Luce Scholars for 2015-16.

In a highly competitive field, Shunk and Zimmer were among 18 candidates (from 16 institutions) selected from a pool of 156 nominees who won scholarship positions. Nationwide, up to 75 colleges and universities vie for the annual award. This year, in addition to CMC, only one other institution had two scholars.

The last time that a member of the CMC community received a Luce Scholarship was in 2009.

“I’m absolutely thrilled to have received the Luce Fellowship,” said Shunk. “I’ve been plotting an international career move for some time now, and to be able to make that move with an organization as prestigious and transformational as the Luce Foundation is humbling, to say the least. I have no doubt that I’ll learn lessons during this year that I could learn under no other circumstances. And I hope to pay those forward 1,000-fold over the course of my career.”

Shunk graduated from CMC with a B.A. in International Relations and currently is a writer/editor who covers the national restaurant and bar industry as well as the local scenes in New York City and, occasionally, Denver. Except for a brief stint as a consultant, Shunk has been employed in the food and beverage industry for her entire career.

For the past two years, Shunk has been the editor of The Village Voice food section. Passionate about all aspects of the food community, she studied global food politics while enrolled at CMC. She sits on the board of directors for the New York City Coalition Against Hunger, a nonprofit organization that advocates on behalf of impoverished communities and food banks in New York City.

Shunk said that she will be placed in a job related to her career interests, which, at this juncture, involves figuring out “how we’re going to feed the planet without destroying the environment or making ourselves sick.”

“I’ll likely be working with ecologically concerned food producers, and on policy issues related to food security and sustainability,” she said.

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Likewise, Zimmer said she is honored to be a recipient of a Luce award to live and work in Asia for the year. “Asia was not on my radar but when CMC sent out information about the fellowship, I thought, ‘Why not? Who wouldn’t want to live in Asia for year?’ ”

Zimmer singled out Kim Babon, Assistant Director of Fellowships at the Center for Global Education, who assisted her through every step of this process.

Since leaving CMC, Zimmer said her career focus has been in the education field. “I don’t know which country in Asia I will be placed in but I will most likely be working in an education NGO or a university,” she said. “I have a passion for providing access to education for under-served students and I will seek to gain a better understanding of how other countries address this issue so I can return with new ideas.”

Zimmer graduated from CMC with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. Currently, she is assistant director of recruitment and placement for the Golden Apple Foundation, a non-profit that gives awards to excellent teachers and prepares future teachers through a college scholarship program.

In her first year with the foundation, Zimmer initiated and led three major reform projects. She streamlined the application process by moving the application online and created an online job board, which resulted in 100% placement for graduating students. Most recently, recognizing that the preferred method of communication for high school students is texting, she initiated the successful use of a texting platform to communicate with them.

In January, Zimmer started in a master’s program in organizational change at Northwestern University, which focuses on leadership and organizational development, to further her goal of leading an education non-profit.

Earlier, Zimmer worked for three years in admissions for the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. She recruited and provided outreach to first generation, low income and underrepresented students from Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and led an expanded early outreach program for underserved 9th and 10th graders. Working in CPS, she witnessed the dramatic inadequacy of education for students in poor neighborhoods and the dire need for improvement.

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The Luce Scholars Program is a nationally competitive fellowship program launched by the Henry Luce Foundation in 1974 to enhance the understanding of Asia among potential leaders in American society. The program provides stipends, language training, and individualized professional placement in Asia for 15-18 Luce Scholars each year, and welcomes applications from college seniors, graduate students, and young professionals in a variety of fields who have had limited exposure to Asia.

Luce Scholars have backgrounds in virtually every field other than Asian studies, including but not limited to the arts, journalism, law, medicine, science, public health, environmental studies, and international relations.

Successful candidates have a record of high achievement, outstanding leadership ability, and clearly defined interests with evidence of potential for professional accomplishments.

Luce Scholars gain new perspectives and cultural insights on their host countries through immersive living and working experiences in Asia. A professional placement is individually arranged for each scholar on the basis of his or her professional interest, background and qualifications.

Placements can be made in the following countries or regions: Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.

The “Luce year” begins in late June with orientation in New York and San Francisco. Luce Scholars engage in intensive language study in Asia in July and August. Placements begin in September, and conclude with a wrap-up meeting in July of the following year.

In his new book Building a Heaven on Earth: Religion, Activism, and Protest in Japanese Occupied Korea (University of Hawaii Press), Albert L. Park, associate professor of history, addresses two primary questions: why and how Korean religious groups responded to growing rural poverty, social dislocation, and the corrosion of culture caused by forces of modernization under strict Japanese colonial rule from 1910–1945.

Based on the study of key Korean religious leaders who sought to combat brutal economic conditions experienced by Koreans (especially peasants) living under Japanese colonial rule, Park’s book shows that religion was not a static force immune to change.

“Instead, it was (and is) something that needs to be continuously adapted to changing conditions in society by reconfiguring traditional religious language, practices and institutions into meaningful and purposeful forces for building inclusive communities and social change,” he said.

In Building a Heaven on Earth, Park studies the drive by various religious groups to contest standard conceptions of modernity and forge a heavenly kingdom on the Korean peninsula to relieve people from major disruptions in their everyday lives. The results of his study might just reconfigure debates on colonial modernity, the origins of faith-based social activism in Korea, and the role of religion in a modern world.

Bruce Cumings, professor of history at the University of Chicago and author of Korea’s Place in the Sun: A Modern History, calls Park’s book “a concise, well-judged, and deeply informed analysis of two central problems of the Korean political economy during the Great Depression: the agrarian mise-en-scène of high tenancy and general impoverishment; and the global anarchy of a world economy that had fallen apart, with no one knowing how to put it back together again.”

Takashi Fujitani of the University of Toronto describes Park’s book as “pioneering and masterfully researched with many insights into the complex and globally-mediated intersections among religion, modernity, and nationalism in colonial Korea.”

***

Through its historical findings, Park’s book challenges today’s prominent pattern of subscribing to and not challenging modern-day normative values.

Despite the numerous political, social, economic, cultural and technological innovations in the last couple of decades, a large number of people in the developed and developing worlds hold onto the belief that to become modern requires certain features in society, especially industrial capitalism and urbanization.

“Diversity on many levels certainly exists in many societies, but there is a frequent tendency to not question this idea of how to become modern, especially in discussion of models of modern development in the political and economic realm, or what it means to be modern,” Park said. “This hegemonic way of thinking unfortunately prevents any concrete and meaningful discussions on the prospects of creating alternative ways of modern living.”

But far from being a condemnation of modernity, Park’s book argues that religion empowers a modern form of living by emphasizing the present.

“It explains that religion has value under modernity as it transforms and adapts in order to continue feeding the human imagination, cooperative social development, and the diversity of social living,” he said.

The book also encourages readers to be open to the idea that there should not be one path of development under modernity. “At the time they started their drives to build a heavenly kingdom on the Korean peninsula,” Park said, “religious leaders rejected the popular belief that modernity should be solely centered on industrialization, urbanization, and secularization. They stressed that social development should be sensitive to place in that any type of development needs to respect and work with existing cultures, customs, beliefs, practices and institutions.”

More important, according to Park, the book could help readers understand why people have turned to cooperatives and have searched for alternative economic systems during periods of great economic distress caused by a depression or recession.

In Park’s view, his book (unlike many existing studies) focuses on religious processes in relation to political, economic, social, and cultural developments. In so doing, it contributes to the debates on colonial modernity, the origins of faith-based social activism in Korea and the role of religion in a modern world.

“Though I think the book will be of special interest to people interested in East Asian history,” Park said, “this book could have wide appeal because it is a story about the hope and limitations of creating social movements to establish a new, inclusive world where people are firmly committed to caring and helping one another above all, especially economic interests.”

Upcoming book news: In April and June, Park will be lecturing about his book and Korean history at Harvard, the University of Washington (Seattle), and the Universidad Sergio Arboleda (Bogota, Columbia).

]]>http://www.claremontmckenna.edu/news/cmc-history-professor-albert-park-on-building-a-heaven-on-earth/feed/0Scholar’s work on plundered art makes news in Germanyhttp://www.claremontmckenna.edu/news/prof-petropouloss-work-on-nazi-art-plundering-gets-attention-in-germany/
http://www.claremontmckenna.edu/news/prof-petropouloss-work-on-nazi-art-plundering-gets-attention-in-germany/#commentsMon, 09 Mar 2015 04:37:32 +0000http://www.claremontmckenna.edu/news/?p=20204 Continue Reading]]>Germany’s biggest newspapers are following and reporting the recent work of Professor Jonathan Petropoulos, who has spent much of his academic career on the subject of Nazi art looting.

“We are still discovering new information concerning both Nazi art plundering and Allied restitution efforts,” said Petropoulos, who is John V. Croul Professor of European History. “My recent lecture at a conference held at Columbia University, titled ‘Ghosts of the Past: Nazi-Looted Art and Its Legacies,’ reported on certain recent discoveries, including the American destruction of artworks made by Nazi leaders between 1949 and 1951 and the postwar relationships of American curators with former Nazi art plunderers.”

Petropoulos added that his recent talks also looked at the status of “the so-called ‘degenerate’ art works that the Nazis purged from German state museums in the late-1930s (works that generally have not been subject to restitution).”

Currently, Petropoulos is working on a book about a Nazi art historian/dealer who plundered art during the war, and then rehabilitated his career after 1950. His lecture at the Columbia conference in February also included a report on some of his findings so far.

Some of these findings prompted members of the German press attending the conference to report on Petropoulos’ lecture in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and Süddeutsche Zeitung, two of the country’s largest national newspapers.

According to Petropoulos, the topic of Nazi art looting and postwar restitution continues to make news, particularly in Germany, where the disposition of the Gurlitt cache (some 1,400 works, a number of them suspect) has helped to reignite interest in the topic.

Yet there have been a series of other cases that have drawn the attention of experts and the public alike–including a lawsuit concerning the Guelph Treasures (valuable medieval artifacts) that was filed last week by descendants of a Jewish art dealer in the U.S. District Court in Washington, DC.

]]>http://www.claremontmckenna.edu/news/prof-petropouloss-work-on-nazi-art-plundering-gets-attention-in-germany/feed/0RDS Scholars Help High Schoolers Become “Adults for a Day”http://www.claremontmckenna.edu/news/rds-scholars-help-high-schoolers-become-adults-for-a-day/
http://www.claremontmckenna.edu/news/rds-scholars-help-high-schoolers-become-adults-for-a-day/#commentsFri, 06 Mar 2015 18:14:45 +0000http://www.claremontmckenna.edu/news/?p=20198 Continue Reading]]>The skies might have been overcast last Friday, but the financial concepts taught by a group of Robert Day School (RDS) volunteers to kids from Banning High School were anything but cloudy.

For the fourth straight year, 13 RDS Scholars, in partnership with Junior Achievement of Southern California (JASoCal), volunteered at JA Finance Park in Los Angeles to teach financial literacy skills to around 50 students – this year from Banning High School located in Wilmington, CA. The day-long event was called, appropriately, “An Adult for a Day” and was a real eye-opener for students into the responsibilities and choices – many of them with financial ramifications – that they will soon face in their post-high school lives.

For Oscar Nuho, a senior at Banning who plans to become an Emergency Medical Technician and then a firefighter, the most important take-away from the day was “to start saving – right now!”

“I thought the day was going to be boring; it’s about financial stuff, after all,” said Alyssa Cruz, a Banning 10th grader who, after college, would like to become an F.B.I. agent or possibly a S.W.A.T. team member. “The whole experience was fun and very interpersonal. The most important thing I heard today is to try not to waste your money.”

Of all the programs taught at the Finance Park, according to Kat Delgado Kirkwood, who is Senior Director of Education at JASoCal, “Adult for a Day” has the biggest impact in the shortest amount of time.

“These are the comments that you hear from students,” Kirkwood said. “They will say, ‘I appreciate my parents, now I understand why they struggle every day.’ ‘I’m going to stay in school.’ ‘I don’t want to get married.’ ‘I don’t want to have kids, they are expensive.’ You see the light bulb suddenly go on as they begin to see the correlation between their education preparation and their future earning potential.”

Kirkwood said that the “An Adult for a Day” is just one of many programs put on each year by JASoCal which will serve about 8,700 students this year with a curriculum that has been taught in Southern California since 2007 and targets grades 7-12.

On this day of instruction, the inside of JA Finance Park was configured like a giant live-action Monopoly board with anterooms whose exteriors had the signage and logos of such businesses as State Farm, Bank of America, Capital One, Citibank, Toyota, etc.

It was the job of the RDS Scholars to walk the Banning students through a budgeting process and teach them how to live within their means, all while paying bills and buying (as needed) from the storefronts around them. That meant starting with the basics; explaining such things as how to use debit cards, the various services offered at banks, advantages and disadvantages of using credit, and the risks and benefits of saving and investing.

“Being able to facilitate this learning experience with the high schoolers has been very gratifying to the RDS Scholars. It has encouraged us to carry on and return to the Finance Park annually,” said Brian Dennis, Director, Administration and Programs, for RDS. “It’s a unique opportunity for RDS to connect with younger people who are possibly growing up in an area where there is less opportunity and feeling like they can really help fill a void.

“And the ability to fulfill a community service goal has been really important too,” Dennis added. “The mentoring environment here is very fluid.”

Michelle Goodwin ’16 was one of the RDS volunteers and the only mentor repeating from last year’s Finance Park session that was conducted with middle-school students from Pomona, Calif. Typically, RDS seniors and graduate students make up the mentor ranks.

“I like volunteering so I decided to do it because I’m passionate about teaching budgeting skills to young and old and because it’s something you need to know –and no one knows how to do it,” Goodwin said.

Goodwin, who plans to work a summer internship for a finance company, added that it’s important to teach such skills at a young age. “If not, they are going to go to college and be completely unaware. Their parents may give them money (or not), or they may be working and want to go out with their friends but don’t have enough money to do so because they’ve spent it all the first week on clothes.”

For RDS Scholar Vishnu Reddy M’15, educating kids about how to manage their finances was an opportunity he never had in high school in West Virginia. “My first year of college was an absolute disaster as far as budgeting goes. I had to learn on the fly,” he said. “Real-life budgeting and money management isn’t a part of most high school curriculum – mathematics, science and English are.”

Reddy, who, after graduation, will start a job with JMP Securities in San Francisco, said he believes in the CMC credo of “giving back” and that it’s an idea universally shared by all colleges and universities.

Apart from what Reddy considers to be the “Golden Rule” of learning how to budget, he said that kids attending “An Adult for a Day” should be aware that “their careers start now!”

“Being able to get out and network is huge,” he said. “Everyone that they’ve met here could be a potential network opportunity for the rest of their collegiate career. I’d like to mentor them to do better in their interviews and networking outreach so they can have a better, less bumpy career path than I did starting out.”

Goodwin agreed with Reddy that although learning budgeting skills was the baseline for students attending JA Finance Park, acquiring other skills was also important.

“What you really want to learn is how to be a successful college student or career person and it’s up to us to incentivize high school and middle-school students to think beyond their little bubble,” she said. “The most important concept I want to instill during ‘An Adult for a Day’ is goal-setting. It comes with budgeting, career concerns, college and every other goal that is out there — even relationship success.”

According to Kirkwood, inevitably there will be pros and cons in every decision the kids make. “Just don’t blindly make a decision,” she cautioned. “Be informed so you know what step to take.”

]]>http://www.claremontmckenna.edu/news/rds-scholars-help-high-schoolers-become-adults-for-a-day/feed/0CMS winter sports heading to NCAAshttp://www.claremontmckenna.edu/news/cms-winter-sports-heading-to-ncaas/
http://www.claremontmckenna.edu/news/cms-winter-sports-heading-to-ncaas/#commentsThu, 05 Mar 2015 17:29:39 +0000http://www.claremontmckenna.edu/news/?p=20192 Continue Reading]]>Each of the four winter sports teams for Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Athletics are participating in their respective NCAA Championships. Below is information on each of the teams including game and event times, information on where to watch and follow along and much more.

Women’s Basketball
CMS faces the University of Puget Sound in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday, Mar. 6 at 5 p.m. The game is hosted by George Fox University in Newberg, Ore. Should CMS win and advance, they would play the winner of the game between host George Fox and Penn State Abington in the second round on Saturday, March 7. CMS earned the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) automatic bid by winning the SCIAC Postseason Tournament, beating the University of Redlands (56-49) and California Lutheran University (60-43).

Men’s Basketball
Back in NCAA Division III Basketball Championship play for the first time since 2012, the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men’s basketball team is facing Texas Lutheran at East Texas Baptist in Marshall, Texas on Friday, March 6 at 5 p.m. CST in the first round of the NCAAs. The other first round matchup that will be hosted by East Texas Baptist at Ornelas Gym is a game between host ETBU and Hendrix. Should CMS advance, they would play the winner of the ETBU/Hendrix game on Saturday, March 7 at ETBU at 4:00 p.m. CST. CMS earned the SCIAC automatic bid to the 2015 NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Championship by winning the SCIAC Postseason Tournament, including a 71-66 win at Chapman in the tournament finals.

Swimming & Diving (Athenas and Stags)
On March 3, the NCAA announced the participants for the 2015 Division III Swimming & Diving Championships which run from March 18-21 in Shenandoah, Texas, and 16 student-athletes (nine men, seven women) from Claremont-Mudd-Scripps have been invited. This is the second-straight year that CMS has sent representatives from both the women’s team and the men’s team to the NCAA Championships in the same year. The Athenas finished in 13th place at NCAAs last season while the Stags broke into the top-10 nationally, at 7th. Eight swimmers and one diver are heading to Texas for the Stags in 2015. Of the five relays at the NCAA Championships, the Stags qualified for all five. Six swimmers and one diver are heading to Texas for the Athenas in 2015, led by its 200 and 400-yard medley relay teams.

According to team president Aseem Chipalkatti ’15, the WorldMUN, which took place March 16-20 in Seoul, South Korea, is billed as the “Olympics of MUN” and is very much the top-billed conference in the world.

“This is a huge accomplishment,” says Chipalkatti. “It involved beating out not only the country’s top teams (many of whom compete at the conference), but also the world’s top teams. In essence, we can effectively claim that CMC has a world champion Model UN team – which is nothing short of a little exciting for us! This is the second time in four years that we’re World Champions.”

Chipalkatti, who wanted to thank the College and ASCMC for its support of the Model UN team, had this to say about the team’s steep rise on the world stage: “We started from just about nothing four years ago – we were a non-ranked team that barely competed in conferences. By contrast, we are now an internationally renowned team that has global name recognition. “

Winner Takes All: CMC is Victor in Harvard National Model United Nations Team Competition

For the first time ever, CMC’s Model United Nations (MUN) Team took home top honors during Harvard’s National Model United Nations conference held Feb. 12-15 in Boston.

In aggregate competition, CMC competed against college and university student teams from more than 60 countries. In the annual competition, MUN teams send individual members to compete as part of specialized committees, generally representing a single country.

According to Aseem Chipalkatti ’15, President of CMC’s MUN and a competing team member since his freshman year, CMC represented Sierra Leone, and discussed matters ranging from Millennium Development Goals to global Journalistic Freedom and Protections.

“Additionally, two members (me and Dante Toppo ‘15) competed in ‘crisis’ committees where we reenacted the National Presidium of Benin in 1990 and a special summit of the cabinet of Bosnia and Herzegovina as members of those specific bodies.”

Competing teams are evaluated on their ability to lead discussion, provide valuable insight, and create compromise, with individual delegates evaluated on their ability to produce a workable solution to a presented question while protecting their own country’s interest in a diplomatic and collaborative manner.

“This is difficult, and a problem that world leaders struggle with as well, which makes us especially proud of all of the members of our team,” Chipalkatti said.

Chipalkatti partially attributes the MUN team’s success in competition to something ineffable that he calls a “CMC style” that is friendly and collaborative.

“Our team’s style is much the same as the school’s in general; we make sure to back up a strong competitive attitude with an equally strong sense of friendliness and good-natured social interaction,” he said. “As much as this may be ‘nerd Olympics,’ we like to have fun with it.”

Another big advantage for the CMC MUN team is the fact that the college produces a very strong selection of interdisciplinary-minded students.

“We are not a team of solely International Relations majors (though many of us are),” Chipalkatti said. “Instead, we draw from all of the school’s various departments – PPE, IR, Government, Literature, Philosophy, the Keck Science Department – and trust that our education and academic experiences at CMC give us the liberal arts foundation necessary to succeed in Model UN.”

But, according to Chipalkatti, perhaps the largest contribution comes from former team members who have already graduated. “We’re an exceptionally young team on the circuit – most other schools that have programs of our caliber have been around for decades,” he said. “We’ve been competing for around four years in our current incarnation. The CMC alumni who have built this team from the ground-up provided the necessary solid foundation for our success.”

Although, admittedly it is rare to see a MUN delegate actually go on to work for the United Nations, the skills acquired in competition can judiciously apply to just about any work environment. Collaboration, friendliness, and initiative are valued in any workplace, and the MUN provides a space for CMC students to learn and practice those skills.

“On a more individual level, Model UN has provided me other students on the team with other benefits,” Chipalkatti said. “We spend a lot of time with each other on the road and at CMC, and Model UN will continue to function as a social unit even after we all graduate. Even though some of our new members have never met our first sets of alumni, they still continue to interact online and in other venues. Model UN is very much a family that exists beyond the scope of a committee room or practice session. And win or lose, that remains the most valuable thing about Model UN at CMC.”

]]>http://www.claremontmckenna.edu/news/winner-takes-all-cmc-is-victor-in-harvard-national-model-united-nations-team-competition/feed/0Robert Day School Scholars Practice the “Art of the Pitch”http://www.claremontmckenna.edu/news/robert-day-school-scholars-practice-the-art-of-the-pitch/
http://www.claremontmckenna.edu/news/robert-day-school-scholars-practice-the-art-of-the-pitch/#commentsThu, 26 Feb 2015 19:50:06 +0000http://www.claremontmckenna.edu/news/?p=20175 Continue Reading]]>For a group of Scholars at the Robert Day School of Economics and Finance completing their MA’s this year, the 2nd Annual RDS Pitch Day held Feb. 13th was a resounding success.

A morning session in which groups of students delivered 20-minute pitches on a variety of ideas to a seasoned panel of senior business executives and CMC alumni was followed in the afternoon by focused feedback from the executives to the students on the pros and cons of their pitches.

For many students the prime benefit of Pitch Day is that it affords them their first taste of real world business experience, taking them out of classrooms and into a business setting where they strive to be, in essence, pitch-perfect.

“Putting yourself in a true professional setting really allows you to see how your presenting skills would compare in the real world,” said Sara Mostatabi ’15, an Economics and Mathematics dual major and BAMA student. “The professionals giving advice were also incredibly personable and willing to help.”

One of 36 students that participated in Pitch Day this year (up from 28 students last year), Mostatabi has plans to pursue a career in investment banking (mergers & acquisitions) at a small boutique investment bank in Los Angeles.

Mostatabi presented on BorgWarner, an American worldwide automotive industry components and parts supplier, and received the most valuable advice from panelist Lee Ann Gliha ’96 who is Managing Director and Head of Media in Houlihan Lokey’s Media & Telecom Group.

“She spoke very candidly about what it is like to be a woman in investment banking,” Mostatabi said, “and provided genuine advice stemming from her great experience and background.”

Ms. Gliha was part of a panel of six executives that included Richard Chino ’90, Christopher Dodds P’13 P’15, Allison Robinson ’92, Mark Robles ’78 and Brian Smith ’99.

“I felt that the students really presented at a high level,” Mr. Chino said. “There are always opportunities to improve, but they are so far beyond where I was when I was in their shoes.”

Chino, who, in the past, has helped students hone their Hult Prize pitches, marks his first Pitch Day participation with this event.

“We can bring the lessons we have learned to the students and hopefully provide them with insights that can increase their ability to succeed even in the first days of their career. Supplementing the amazing education produced by our fine faculty is something that I and countless other alumni have done for quite some time and new opportunities to leverage our experiences are always welcome.”

According to Mr. Dodds, who originated the idea for RDS Pitch Day, in simulating a real-world work-type interaction, it was important to also provide a setting for students in which they felt safe and nurtured.

“I think they’re always a little bit nervous until you can reassure them that it’s a safe environment,” Dodds said. “My executive colleagues are purely there to help them. We are not going to grade them and give their marks to Dean Blomberg or talk about them to anybody else. We’re there solely to provide a one-on-one interaction that can give students feedback and help them do a better job. Once they hear that, they tend to relax a bit more.”

Dodds remarked that as was the case with presentations delivered at last year’s Pitch Day, students impressed with their polish and ability to articulate and carry good (sometimes better than good) presence into the presentation room.

“The way you present is as important as what you have to say,” Chino said. “In my first consulting assignment, I had the right answers but the client didn’t believe me until my manager said the same exact thing but in a much better way. It was that lesson that brought home the importance of presentations skills.”

For Dodds, the biggest potential stumbling block for students in putting over their presentations seems somewhat antithetical to pitching; and that is retaining the ability to also listen well during a pitch.

“It’s really important to listen, as well as talk during a presentation,” Dodds said, “because generally, during a presentation, executives will ask this or request that and that is incredibly important. Too many of the kids think that what is most important is for them to talk. You must listen and watch very carefully how the executive responds. You should learn as much from the presentation by watching and listening as the executives learn about what you are presenting.

“Students also try to impress you with how smart they are, and we know that anyone at CMC is a really smart student. What I find myself often telling them is not to rattle off as many things as you can and show us how smart you are. One of the points is to make a complex situation of what you’re presenting as simple, clear and straightforward as you can.”